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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

This past weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of hunting with the Louisiana Handicapped Sportsmen. Their President, Timothy Guillory, invited me and a guest to a weekend hunt and it was a true honor to have been invited and to take part.

Although the deer did not cooperate, the weekend was memorable indeed. I was very impressed with what these men have built in their 20 years of existence as a hunting club for the disabled.

Yours Truly On the Range

The land was located in Dodson, LA and consisted of 1900 acres that a timber company owns and has worked out an amazing deal to the group. Now that is one heck of a lease, especially when you realize that there are only 14 members at present are in this club, more on this in a minute.

There were blinds and stands spread out all through the property and just about all of them looked really good. I was allowed to occupy the blind known as the West Hilton. Man was it properly named. It was in the 8x12 ballpark and looked more like a large shed than a deer blind. Sliding windows on all sides made it cozy in the face of a cold couple of days. On top of all of this, there was a cast feeder about 90 yards down one of the 3 lanes visible to the stand and a stand of pine that was some of the best bedding area I have seen in a while. On the backside of the stand, there was a beautiful bottom area with hard wood. From this stand, plenty of the other members have taken very nice deer and I have no doubt that in the future, I will overcome my failures of the past weekend.

Charlie (seated) and Mitchell Franks

So, here is the cool part. If you live in Louisiana and are disabled, membership is available. Cost is an unbelievably low $300 per year and each member can have one person to assist them. Their assistant also gets to hunt. There is electric and water available and spots are available for additional camp houses. We stayed in a guest bunkhouse that had all the amenities one needs at a hunting camp. Contact Timothy Guillory by email or call him at 318-446-1004 for more information.

On this particular weekend, the group was hosting the Louisiana Hunting for Heroes which is a non-profit for military veterans who struggle with PTSD and other issues from their wartime experiences. It was such an honor to spend some time hanging out with these guys. They were extremely helpful to those of us who needed a hand from time to time.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

In the world of Handicapped Outdoors, we are always on the hunt for a solution to the all-terrain dilemma. Is there anything out there that can give someone in a wheelchair a true ATV experience? Something that has power, versatility and ruggedness? The answer is YES...yes there is.

The RIPCHAIR 3.0 is truly an off road beast. This is not just another electric wheelchair that might do the job. This is a gas powered, get you where you need to be, MAN MACHINE! On top of that, there is no transferring into this thing. You simply drive your wheelchair right into the bay. Unreal right? You get the power of an ATV with the comfort of your actual wheelchair while you hunt, fish or explore.

So let's talk real turkey here. The RIPCHAIR boasts a twin-cylinder 30 HP Kawasaki engine with a Hydro-static drive that gives the operator amazing control-a-bility (I think I just created a new word maybe). Because it's gas powered you get the same feel as a 4-wheeler. With a five gallon tank, you can anticipate approximately 3-4 hours of usage per tank depending on the weight of the operator and the terrain in which you will be maneuvering in.

The frame is made of aerospace aluminum which is lighter than the typical steel used in wheelchair frames of this nature. This cuts down on the overall weight to a manageable 1250 lbs without the driver in the bay.

There are two versions depending on your disability and level of arm usage. The standard version is the Paraplegic and as the name implies is designed for those that have use of their arms. It comes with controls like that of a zero-turn lawn mower and has a top speed of around 10-13 mph. It's price-point is $34,500.

The second version is called the Quadriplegic and is controlled via a joystick. Due to the limited mobility in the arms the top speed is still a respectable 8-9 MPH. The reduction is to give someone that extra second they need to make an adjustment in driving which is nice. The price is $39,500.

Some standard features that come with the price is LED lights front and rear, a gun rack/fishing rod holder, 2" receiver hitch, a set of tie downs, a fire extinguisher, operators/maintenance manual and tools to place the RIPCHAIR in neutral if you ever needed to tow it for some reason. You can also add some upgrades which can make life a little better like an auxiliary 12 volt electric plugin for cell phones, gps electric blanket, etc, a 5,000 lb winch, D-rings for tying down during transport or extra tow points, and there is even research being done for a snow-plow attachment in the future.

Truly one small step for man and one giant leap for off road mobility. Thanks to Howe and Howe Tech for dreaming big and delivering even larger!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

In the month of October, there were two weekends where my incredible friend, Jeff Warren, took around 30 kids on their dream hunt of a lifetime. These young people live challenged lives, some of which are on a time-table for when their time on this side of eternity will be over. The Dream Hunt Foundation fulfills their wish and man is it a powerful thing.

Now understand gang that this isn't your average operation. Each kid gets a guide and a camera-man to film their hunt. And boy did they lay some brown on the ground. One young man even killed two hogs - w00t!

I was bringing an encouraging talk to them just before lunch, so I wanted to get there an hour early and was I ever glad to do that. Some of them were already coming in from the morning hunt, as I pulled up. My jaw literally dropped open at seeing what some of these young people were bringing in. There was an entire horn section and I don't mean an orchestra. Truly a thing of beauty! Check the slide-show below:

It was a sea of smiles with kids, parents and grandparents all grinning from ear to ear. I was high-fiving, hugging and hand-slapping complete strangers I was so geeked up.

If they weren't able to shoot one in the morning, no big deal! Lunch was all you could eat BBQ sandwiches, then a little fishing just to relax and then back out for the afternoon hunt. If a child still didn't convert, Jeff takes them again at a later time. Amazing right?

One of the hunts was so touching that I wanted to share the video with you. Little Bryce had to use a Sip/Puff mechanism to make the shot and he was spot on. Enjoy!

Get you some tissue and watch it again. But, seriously, If you would like to help with both Handicapped Outdoors and Dream Hunt, contact me at: handicappedoutdoors@gmail.com